Mahmut Bozteke

Mahmut Bozteke (born 21 June 1997) is a Turkish Para Taekwondo athlete.[1] He qualified for the para-taekwondo games at the rescheduled 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan, on 24 August 2021.

Mahmut Bozteke
Personal information
Born (1997-03-05) 5 March 1997
Şanlıurfa, Turkey
Sport
SportPara Taekwondo
Disability classK44
Weight class61 kg
Medal record
Men's Para Taekwondo
Representing  Turkey
Paralympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo 61 kg
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2019 AntalyaK44 61 kg
Silver medal – second place2017 LondonK44 61 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2019 BariK44 61 kg
Gold medal – first place2021 IstanbulK44 63 kg
Silver medal – second place2018 PlovdivK44 61 kg
Bronze medal – third place2016 WarsawK44 61 kg

Early life

At age eleven, his arms were caught in the tail shaft of a tractor while he was working in a pistachio tree garden. Bozteke's arms were severed in the accident,[2] and he was hospitalised for three and half months. He had a partial amputation of his arms and tissue taken from his legs allowed partial reconstruction of his arms over the course of fifteen operations.[3] He was bedridden at home for a year recovering from injury and the operations. Having no hands, he learned to do his daily work with his feet. He was introduced to Taekwondo at a gymnasium of the Youth and Sports Provincial Directorate in his neighbourhood on the recommendation of his physiotherapist, who told him, "You use your feet well, I think you can practise taekwondo."[3][4] During his secondary education at Kanuni Sultan Süleyman High School, he participated in regional competitions for para-swimming in the S6 disability class.[5]

Sports career

The 23-year-old athlete became the Turkish champion in Para Taekwondo before he competed internationally.[3]

He won the bronze medal in the K44 disability class in the under 61 kilograms (134 lb) weight class at the 2016 European Para Taekwondo Championships held in Warsaw, Poland.[2] At the 2017 World Para Taekwondo Championships in London, England, he won the silver medal in the K44 61 kilograms (134 lb) event.[6][7] Bozteke won the gold medal in the K44 61 kilograms (134 lb) event at the 2019 Para Taekwondo Championships in Bari, Italy.[8][9]

Bozteke qualified for the para-taekwondo games at the rescheduled 2020 Summer Paralympics to be held in Tokyo, Japan, beginning on 24 August 2021.[3][10] He waon one of the bronze medals in the -61 kg event.[11]

References

  1. Mahmut Bozteke Team Turkey
  2. ""Para-tekvandocu" gencin hayali beden eğitimi öğretmeni olmak". Radikal (in Turkish). 31 October 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  3. Ceylan, Kemal (5 November 2020). "Yatağa bağımlılıktan paralimpik oyunlara uzanan başarı hikayesi: Mahmut Bozteke" [Mahmut Bozteke: Success story from bedridden to Paralympic Games]. Anadolu News Agency (in Turkish). Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  4. "Mahmut Bozteke: Spor beni hayata bağladı". Fanatik (in Turkish). 6 August 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  5. "Bedensel Engelli Sporcular Start Listesi" (PDF) (in Turkish). Gaziantep Yüzme. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  6. "İngiltere'nin başkenti Londra'da sona eren Para-Tekvando Dünya Şampiyonası'ndan Gaziantepli sporcular bir altın, bir de gümüş madalya ile döndü" (in Turkish). Gaziantep Gençlik ve Spor İl Müdürlüğü. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  7. "Para-Tekvandoculardan 10 madalya". Habertürk (in Turkish). 20 October 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  8. "Para Tekvando Avrupa Şampiyonası'nda 61 kiloda mücadele eden Mahmut Bozteke altın madalya kazandı". [[İhlas News Agency|]] (in Turkish). 31 October 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  9. "Para Taekwondo'da Tarihi Başarı" (in Turkish). Türkiye Taekwondo Federasyonu. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  10. "Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games". paralympic.org. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  11. "Tokyo Paralimpik Oyunları'nda Mahmut Bozteke'den tarihi madalya". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
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